


Almost

by Amrei



Series: Almost Series [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle Showdown, Rumbelle Showdown 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 17:11:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6478969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrei/pseuds/Amrei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The whole sleeping-princess-thing was truly the single most clichéd curse any sorcerer could ever come up with, but that knowledge still didn’t help Rumplestiltskin ban the lady in question from his thoughts.</p><p>In which Rumplestiltskin is intrigued by a sleeping beauty and can almost believe that he could be the one to free her from her curse. Almost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Almost

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the second round of the Rumbelle Showdown 2016.
> 
>  **Prompts:** Cobwebs, almost, roses are red

In truth it was a remarkable bit of spell craft; unimaginative of course, but none the less impressive. Rumplestiltskin still considered himself enough of a craftsman to admit when a fellow artisan deserved his respect. And the caster of the spell was an artisan, of that there could be no doubt. Yes, the magic used paled in comparison to the might the dark curse had given him and the whole sleeping-princess-thing was an old story, but never the less the spell was expertly woven, maybe even more so because its caster hadn’t had greater power at his back and call.

He let his gaze wander from the cobwebs in the corner of the tower room to the grand bed in its middle and its occupant. The midday sun shining through the window overhead cast the woman’s brown curls in a reddish glow, illuminating her delicate features. Rumplestiltskin snorted.

A certain someone had truly went for the classics and might have overdone it a slight bit, while he’d been at it. At least the lady in question gave the whole scene something memorable. While she was just as breathtakingly beautiful as the cliché demanded, her hands were not clasped around the expected flower, but a thick tome. He grinned. Probably had held on too tightly before the spell had settled and after it had frozen her, there’d been no way to take it away in order to get the perfect picture everyone had doubtlessly desired.

Despite himself Rumplestiltskin found himself oddly charmed. The little hint at something resembling a character might not be much, but with the bland princesses in mind he usually had the misfortune of meeting, even that hint was a refreshing change. Suffice to say, it was a nice surprise.

Originally, he had not come to Avonlea to take a look at the curse. No, Rumplestiltskin had come here, because he always made it his business when ogres approached a new region, even though this time no one had called him – at least not yet. The good people of Avonlea suffered from the kind of arrogance that could easily kill them all and all that only because they had managed to rebuff every attack they had suffered from the sea for the better part of a century – completely forgetting that that success was not due to their prowess, but the sacrifice of their former lady.

Well, they would remember as much quickly enough, once the ogres approached more and for now Rumplestiltskin would be contend to wait and examine an interesting piece of magic.

He closed his eyes, searching for the pulsing strings of magic trapping the lady and chuckled. Asleep until her true love kissed her… True love’s kiss would free her of course, but what the curse asked for was actually the possibility of love – a distinction not many would have made, but Rumplestiltskin lived for technicalities. It was an unexpected kindness the caster had done the girl. Seeing as she hadn’t been woken right after she had made her sacrifice, she didn’t seem to have found her true love before and this way she at least had a chance to be saved. Truly an interesting piece of magic. Rumpelstiltskin allowed himself one last look before he turned away. He still had other business, after all.

* * *

_He bared his teeth at her, showing her just what kind of monster he truly was, but she remained unimpressed. Her blue eyes meet his squarely. “Really Rumplestiltskin, is it too much to ask to leave your boots outside when they’re covered in dragon blood?” His heart fluttered and for a moment he was lost for words._

* * *

He didn’t visit her regularly. Sometimes only weeks passed between his visits, other times it took him months until he came back. He was a busy man after all and to tell the truth Rumplestiltskin didn’t even know why he came back at all, but sometimes he still found himself in her room after an exhausting deal, doing his level best not to think of the dreams that plagued him and in which she played such a prominent role.

Nothing changed, not really. He amused himself by picking apart the curse in his mind, string by string, and the cobwebs grew thicker and thicker with every one of his visits. At least until they didn’t anymore.

In truth he missed the whole action. When Rumplestiltskin arrived the knight was already leaving the tower again, slinking away in shame. It took no genius to guess what he had come for, how he had failed, and for some reason the thought that this man – a mere knight and not even one of the impressive kind that shone with righteousness- truly thought that he deserved his lady, made Rumplestiltskin’s blood boil. He thought of her little sleepy frown, the thick storybook she held between her hands, doing his level best to ignore the possessive thought that had just wound its way into his head. No, someone like that would simply never do! A smirk bloomed on his face, as Rumplestiltskin turned towards the roses on the foot of the tower.

“Roses are red and all that, eh?” His idea was one giant cliché of course, but seeing the whole curse, it was still oddly fitting. He giggled quietly as the roses started to grow, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until they formed a forbidding wall around the tower. One thing was for sure, no more undeserving louts would be able to reach her.

* * *

_“I would be careful of where I stood, if I were you. Never know which of the snails used to be people, after all!” He honestly expected her to shrink back and run back inside, but once again, he was mistaken. Belle only laughed her throaty little laugh and sat down under the oak. “In that case I’ll be careful, but at least I won’t lack company, if you leave me alone again!”_

* * *

Rumplestiltskin leaned back against the wall and waited as he slowly relaxed. Regina had been an even greater frustration than usual; beheading one’s critics, well, that was only understandable, but slaughtering whole villages on a whim was quite a different story. Not for the first time he truly wished he’d chosen another to mould into the caster of his curse, but by now it was of course far too late for a change of heart.

“You know, there’s quite something to be said for not having to bother with the incompetence of the world, dearie.”

She didn’t answer, of course, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt utterly foolish. He was giving altogether too much importance to his dreams, if he started to consider her anything more than part of an interesting piece of spell work. It really was ridiculous how much he fixated on the first – not even conscious!- lady he met that seemed to have more than wool between her ears. That was if the book wasn’t only for ornamental purposes after all…

He sighed. Well, it wasn’t as if he had anyone else to speak of his troubles with and if anything her presence was oddly comforting and for a moment he almost wondered… What would it be like to be fated for one such as her? Even if the breezy personality she had in his dreams was rooted in nothing more than his own fantasies, the lady of Avonlea was still seemingly intelligent, going by her apparent interests, beautiful and obviously kind, if one considered her sacrifice. Rumplestiltskin stepped forward, eyes on her lips. He swallowed hard. What would it be like to have on such as her love oneself? And it was only about the potential of true love after all, that was all that was needed, at least for her. His curse would be safe… Rumplestiltskin felt his hands tremble and clenched the treacherous things, as he took another step towards her- and froze, disgusted with himself.

“You’re truly a pathetic monster…”

Had he seriously just considered, even if only for a moment, that he could be her perfect match? Rumplestiltskin shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He really had to stop coming here so often. Perhaps he should even send Charming her way. The boy embodied anything a valiant knight should be after all, and his plan for him and Snow White was more work than he had initially thought, anyway. Freeing a lady from a sleeping curse would surely be obstacle enough for the kind of true love Rumplestiltskin needed, too. He nodded determinedly. Yes, that was a good idea and once his lady had found her happy ending with a deserving prince, his damned dreams would surely stop, as well.

He forced himself not to look back when he left, this time for good.


End file.
